I'm Cold
by Baby Cougar
Summary: Red catches Gold during a private moment at Mt. Silver. I hate myself.


It was night, and the caves were dark. It had been a long day. Today was a day off for the Pokémon, sure, but that didn't mean Red didn't push Gold. The time in the mountains wasn't just training their partners, but training their bodies as well. Venusaur kept a watchful eye on the pair throughout the day as they completed Red's personal obstacle course, climbing crags and jumping gaps. It was rewarding and fun honestly, because once one got to a specific point, there was an overlook of the largest cavern, where you could see the waterfalls and the wild Pokémon playing within. Following off of that overlook was a fissure that could be passed through, leading directly to the peak of the mountain. From there, it felt like half of Johto and Kanto was visible from the peak of Mt. Silver. If it wasn't so god damned _freezing_ up there, it would have been perfect.

So naturally, the boys were exhausted by the time they returned to their camp in the caves. This particular area was lit up by glowstone, so one could see decently even with the fire out. Red suspected the glow was the work of a Pokémon rather than a natural occurrence, but for what reason could be anyone's guess. Either way, it made the area more livable. No sunlight meant constant darkness, so the glowing walls were godsend.

The crackle of the fire was relaxing, and the only thing that kept Gold's hair from freezing. They ended the day with a bath, water heated by Exbo and Char. It was relaxing, especially while living in the cold. Not to mention it was secretly Gold's favorite time, because he and senpai always relaxed in the big bath together. He'd never tell Red this anyway.

Fire-roasted meat was on the menu tonight, and by the taste of it, pork. Gold never had the heart to go hunting creatures that could potentially be partners, but it was an indisputable fact that the creatures were also a food source. He didn't know how Red could do it. Perhaps that was one of the many things that made him stronger. But it tasted good, so he didn't complain. As long as it didn't look like the Swinub it came from, all was well.

It was time for bed when they finished eating, but Gold was too fidgety to sleep. His mind was still on senpai, and the view from the bath. Feelings he didn't know what to do with and was positive weren't reciprocated. So as Red started to cuddle up with Pikachu on the blanket on his side of the fire, Gold instead stood up abruptly.

"There's something I need to check out, I'll be back soon!"

With that he trotted off deeper into the caves, leaving his Pokémon behind. Red said nothing, stroking the yellow fur of his partner as he tried to close his eyes. But sleep was always hard to fall into. Opening his eyes, he did a head count of the animals across from the fire. It occurred to him that Gold had run off into the caves without even Typhlosion. That would be dangerous. Hadn't that guy been here long enough to know that? Sitting up, the former champion pulled on his shoes, trotting off into the darker caves to find where Gold had run off to. He shouldn't be left alone.

Not very carefully tucked away behind a boulder, Red caught sight of Gold's figure. What was that kid doing back there? The trainer approached, mouth opening to call out to him, only to stall his voice when he heard panting. He neared still, but as he reached the near side of the boulder, he could hear that panting laced with soft calls for senpai and Red's own given name. A back pressed against the rear of the boulder as the teen slid to a sit, face nearly as red as his jacket with hands clamped over his mouth. If he took off to give Gold privacy, his shoes would grind against the gravel and echo, scaring the poor kid half to death.

As the panting grew heavier and the soft voice grew a little louder, Red knew it was bad to stay here. Bad bad bad. The fluttering in his stomach was unbearable. Just as he was thinking it would be a good time to stand back up and wander off before he was caught, there was a final loud gasp, then a shuffling of cloth. Time to go time to _go._ Scrambling to his feet, red was about to run off when footsteps came from behind the big rock. Crimson hues met yellow, and there was silent, open mouthed staring before Gold let out a loud, squeaking yelp and ran. Fast. Red, on the other hand, stayed put.

He should probably head back to camp instead of sitting around being shellshocked. Getting to his feet, Red brushed off dirt and bits of gravel, heading back to camp. Behind the light of the fire, he could see a figure cocooned in a blanket, guarded by a shield of Pokémon. Of course Gold came back to the camp, it's not like it was a good idea to run off and hide in dark, cold, and Pokémon-infested caves. Red said nothing as he kicked his shoes back off on the other side of the flames, laying down on his bedroll. The fire obstructed his view of Gold, which made it easy to not stare at the other male. What was he supposed to think about what he walked in on? Gold felt that way about him?

Meanwhile Gold's face was pressed into Exbo's fur, tears drying into the mossy green. He was going to be hated, wasn't he? Red senpai was going to send him away for that, wasn't he? It was supposed to be a secret. Sure, he'd tried kissing Red a couple times, but the older male had always been asleep, and it had been quick and light so as not to wake him up. But he'd been caught doing something dirty, and he was positive he was going to be sent away for it. So wrapped up in his thoughts, Gold almost didn't hear his name being called.

"Gold."

The younger teen jumped.

"Y-yeah?"

"Come sleep over here. I'm cold."

 _Ba-thump_. Senpai never got cold, at least, not that he ever let on. There was a lot of hesitation, and the younger male didn't move from his spot.

"Please?"

A few heartbeats more, and Gold rose from his spot, keeping wrapped in the blanket as he crossed the site tentatively. He was finding it hard to meet those ruby eyes, but found the blanket opened up for him when he was close enough. Crawling onto the bedroll, the younger teen took a chance and nestled his face against Red's chest, getting covered up with the blanket. An arm went around him, but no words were said. Gold felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest.

"S-senpai...?"

"Shhh. Just stay there for a while."

Gold took a deep breath. Normally, senpai's scent was soothing to him, but now it was just putting him more on edge. He was probably not going to be able to sleep tonight, just what was going through Red's mind right now?

That was, in fact, a good question. Red didn't know what to think. He'd never looked at Gold as anything more than a kohai. To know those sorts of feelings were there was... no, distressing wasn't the word. Flattering was more like it. He couldn't give the boy what he wanted, but he didn't want to shove him away, either. They could stay like this for now. Red would talk with him in the morning.

"Good night, Gold."


End file.
